St. John Vianney teacher with dyslexia finds a home in classroom

Carly Woodfin, an exemplary third grade teacher at St. John Vianney Catholic School in Gallatin, recently received a national honor for her teaching.

She also almost failed out of college, hopelessly struggling with a severe but undiagnosed learning disability.

Her parents, both educators, recognized that something was “off” as they helped her navigate, with great difficulty, her elementary, middle and high school studies. “They knew it was taking me a long time, and I would get very frustrated and overwhelmed, especially with homework,” said Woodfin. “But I was making the grades, getting A’s and B’s. So my parents addressed it with my teachers, and since I was a good student and not a ‘problem child’, they really didn’t think anything was wrong.”

In college, the demands and deadlines became much more challenging, and Woodfin’s ability to keep up reached a breaking point. A professor suggested that she talk to someone in the counseling department. Three weeks later she was diagnosed with dyslexia.

“A person there said, ‘With the severity of your dyslexia, it’s amazing that you’re here. Most people with this severity who haven’t had any kind of intervention are working at McDonald’s or have dropped out of high school,’” recalled Woodfin. “So, I attribute my success to my parents, who kept on working with me and coaching me to excellence. And now I have my master’s degree.”

Honored for her work

Along with a master’s degree in education, Woodfin also has an extraordinary level of empathy and compassion for her own students who suffer with diagnosed and undiagnosed learning disabilities. Those qualities contributed to Woodfin becoming one of only 10 teachers in the country to be recognized for “inspiring others to shine,” through Mister Car Wash’s “Inspiring Futures – Teacher Appreciation” program. As one of the grand prize winners, Woodfin was awarded a $500 grant for her classroom.

Her nomination was written by a student in one of her classes, who has dyslexia and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. In the letter, he wrote, “Last year was my first year at St. John Vianney Catholic School. I was nervous because I have dyslexia and ADHD. Mrs. Woodfin worked with me and my Mom to ensure I would be successful in school.”

The boy’s mother had met with Woodfin before school started. They talked about what her child needed, as well as what Woodfin would need from them. “The fact that I was dyslexic eased her mind,” said Woodfin. “She knew that I wasn’t just going to gloss over it, or look at it like it wasn’t a problem.”

Working one-on-one

As natural as she is now in her classroom role after just two years of teaching, Woodfin did not always aspire to be an educator. In fact, her undergrad work was in public relations. “I wanted to, like every young college student who leaves the house, go out and change the world,” said Woodfin. “Then as college experiences happened, I was more aware of little changes that make a difference in the world. One of those little differences was working one-on-one with people in education settings, helping them reach their potential.”

Woodfin had witnessed “making little differences” throughout her childhood, as she watched her own parents do whatever they could to support their students. As public school teachers, many of their students were from families who lived well below the poverty line.

“My parents always opened our home to people in need – families and students alike,” Woodfin said. “I just started to realize as I got older that making a difference in the world doesn’t always mean making some grand gesture. It can mean small, simple things, and acts of kindness. I thought that was important.”

As her attitude shifted, pursuing a career in public relations began to seem like a less desirable route. “I was going to have to graduate from college and go work at a corporation, and that wasn’t what I felt called to do,” she said. “I felt like I was called to be working one-on-one, even if that meant less income for me and my family.”

The importance of communication

Woodfin did go on to complete her undergraduate degree. But following her new dream, she would ultimately get her master’s in education, after getting married to her husband Joe, an Episcopal priest, and while raising two children, Luke now 6, and Maggie, now 4.

She does not regret studying public relations for four years, and believes immersion in that discipline has aided her in her current vocation. “Whenever I sit down to parent-teacher conferences, I pull in that knowledge from public relations and communication,” said Woodin. “I really listen to what the parents are trying to say, and really listen to their concerns, and then try to address those concerns and ‘restyle’ my teaching to try to benefit their children. There are definitely standards and curriculum that everyone has to meet, but how we get there is different for each person.”

Clear and open communication was the biggest factor for the mother whose son wrote the award nomination letter. If something problematic was happening in the classroom, or something wasn’t working for her son or his teacher, she wanted to know. “That’s how we made it through the school year – emailing back and forth and talking frequently,” said Woodfin. “But I do that with all of my parents, whether your child has a diagnosis of a learning disability or not. I also let the parents know it has to be a partnership. It can’t just be, ‘my child has this problem. How can you fix it?’”

Everyone will benefit

Woodfin has several plans for the $500 award. She is researching investing in a new elementary reading series for the school. She’s also considering creating a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Center in her classroom, which uses cross-curricular references to support reading comprehension. Or possibly some apps for recently purchased iPads that will help both students with learning disabilities and those who are above average, so that her classroom can be more scholastically differentiated.

The underlying theme for all of these options is that, according to Woodfin, “everyone will benefit from the award money.”